Warm, quality, versatile sleeping bag - Exped Waterbloc Pro -5C / +20F Sleeping Bags

A well-built sleeping bag that will keep you comfortable throughout the night is absolutely essential for any camping trip. The brand new Exped Waterbloc -16°C is a sleeping bag that will keep you warm and dry in just about any type of weather. I recently got the chance to give this sleeping bag a test on a few different camping trips in Colorado.

The Exped Waterbloc -16°C is a sleeping bag that seeks to bridge the gap between a waterproof bivy bag and a traditional sleeping bag. Made of Pertex Quantum Pro fabric, Exped claims that the Waterbloc -16°C can be used “in harsh and humid weather without a bivy bag,” and that this bag can be relied on “under all circumstances”. Keeping the Waterbloc’s temperature rating of -16°C/5°F in mind, I wanted to put these claims to the test. I decided a weekend trip to a trailhead in the Colorado Front Range would be a great place to start. The drizzly forecast and overnight temperatures dipping into the high 20s discouraged other campers, but it was just the forecast I was looking for to properly test my new Exped Waterbloc -16°C. I used my normal closed-cell foam sleeping pad, but otherwise used no shelter or waterproofing system. Overnight I awoke to a light rain striking my face. I used the excellent cinching system on the head of the Exped Waterbloc to reduce the facial opening to a hole just big enough for my nose to breathe in and out of, and fell right back asleep. In the early morning light I eagerly examined the Waterbloc in search of water saturation. Though the trees were dripping from the night’s rain, all water that landed on the Exped Waterbloc -16°C simply beaded up and dripped right off the edges. Though the sleeping bag had done an excellent job keeping me dry, I did notice that my feet had been chilly for much of the night. I generally have poor circulation in my hands and feet, but I would still expect a -16°C/5°F sleeping bag to keep my circulation-deprived extremities warm in temperatures well above the bag’s limits. Before I packed up my delightfully simple camp and headed back to my car, I put the waterproofing to an extreme test, and stood in a nearby stream. After 5 minutes in the frigid stream the only water that had entered the interior of the sleeping bag had done so through the zipper. The outer fabric on the Exped Waterbloc -16°C wasn’t even saturated!

The Exped Waterbloc -16°C lends itself to simple campsites: no need for a tent, hammock, or even bivy bag. The Waterbloc allows you to travel with a small footprint and low visual impact. As such, I love the color choice for the Exped Waterbloc. The forest-green color allows you to perfectly blend in with the damp, mossy forests the Exped Waterbloc -16°C was designed to excel in.

Another low-impact quality of the Exped Waterbloc -16°C is that it is constructed with responsibly-sourced down, certified by Responsible Down Standard (RDS). RDS seeks incentivize the use of responsibly-sourced down and to ensure that the animals that supply down are not subjected to unnecessary harm.

The main shortfall of the Exped Waterbloc -16°C is the stuff sack design. The stuff sack is a roll-top style bag that does not allow you to properly compress the sleeping bag for packability. Thankfully you can easily buy a compression sack at your local outdoor retailer, or even forego the stuffsack altogether and stuff your sleeping bag directly into your backpack. Though a small shortfall, I would expect a sleeping bag at this price point to have a compression sack included.

The Exped Waterbloc -16°C is a bag that sets out to combine a water-resistant shelter with a warm sleeping bag. All in all, this sleeping bag accomplishes that better than any bag I’ve ever owned. Despite some chilly toes and a poorly designed stuff sack, the Exped Waterbloc -16°C is a well-built, water-resistant, low-profile sleeping bag. The highly adjustable face opening and fully taped seams mean this sleeping bag can be used as a free-standing sleeping bag and shelter even in adverse conditions.